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A puzzled look came over Carmiel's face, and he was just about to say something when a tall, dark woman, dressed entirely in black, stepped out from one of the passageways, a combination projectile gun and laser pointed at Carmiel's head. A dozen other women similarly dressed and armed stepped out from the other passageways.
"Honey, I thought you all would never shut up long enough for me to make my appearance," Leona said, as she walked over to Jason, threw her arms around him and gave him a long, slow, wet kiss.
"Hmmm, good. It's always a pleasure to see you again." As she let Jason go, he glanced over to Seattle and noticed she seemed ready to launch herself at Leona. My god, she's jealous, he thought and was surprised to find himself pleased by the observation. Still, it wouldn't do for Seattle and Leona to get into it right now. They were supposed to be on the same side. Jason took a step that placed him between the two women.
"What the hell..." Carmiel said as he glanced from Leona to the other women.
"Tell your men to drop their wands," Jason said, as he reached out and took Stephin's wand from his belt.
"Uh, Jason, who are these women?" Seattle asked, as she took her wand back from one of the men.
"I'll explain later," Jason said, keeping his eye on Carmiel. "Let's just say that I like to have an ace in the hole whenever possible. Leona is my ace on this hand."
"Son, you're making a mistake here," Carmiel said. Jason noticed that the words were much more soft spoken than before. "You really don't know what you're interfering with. It would be best if..."
"Shut up, old man." Jason suddenly found himself very angry. "You certainly don't know what is best for me, but you're right about one thing. I don't know what we're interfering with, but I plan to find out. And if you stand in my way, I'll crush you, father or not. And you can tell that to your grace, the Archangel, as well."
Carmiel didn't say anything, just shook his head. A look of remorse came over his face and his shoulders were once more hunched over. Once again, the thought came to Jason, he's just an old man, all used up and ready to be put out to pasture. Funny, he hadn't noticed it earlier today.
"Well, shall I take these gentlemen off your hands and start earning the exorbitant fee I'm charging you?" Leona asked, once all the men had been disarmed.
"All I want is for you to get them safely back to the surface. I don't want anyone killed. Is that understood?" Jason said.
"Jason," Seattle called, "are you sure what you're doing? This man was ready to kill me, turn the kids over to one of the Patriarchy's Wards, and no telling what he would have done to you."
"I know. And I'm not sure what I'm doing is right," Jason replied. "But I do know this man is my father. And for whatever else he is, I can't help it. He's still my father. I owe him my life. Both giving me life and then providing for me." He turned and looked at Carmiel.
"Consider us even, Father. Next time we meet, I will not hesitate to kill you with my own hands. I suggest you stay away from me. Let me live my own life and quit meddling in my affairs. Understood?"
Carmiel did not answer but continued to stare down at the floor. He finally nodded without looking up.
"Okay, Leona, get them out of here. Remember, no one is to be killed unless they give you any trouble."
Leona and her assistants led the line of men away.
Seattle came up to Jason as he watched the last of them disappear through the passageway. "I sure hope you know what you're doing," she said softly.
"So do I," Jason replied, as he put his arm around her waist.
––––––––
SEATTLE AND JASON DECIDED it would be best if they left the cave as soon as possible, just in case anything happened with Leona. Seattle gave a few clipped orders and the children quickly lined up and started running through the passages on their way back to the family's new lair.
On the way there, Jason walked beside Seattle so they could talk. "You do realize I had nothing to do with those men being there, except for not knowing I was being followed?" Jason asked. "At least I had the forethought to hire Leona to cover my back just in case."
"I do now. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. It's not easy for me to trust people. There's so much corruption, people turning on each other. It's not like that in our family, but you're a new – well, a new member, I guess. It'll take a while for me to fully trust you as one of us, but I'm working on it."
Jason nodded. There was one detail that still bothered him. How had the men been able to follow him through the maze of twists and turns of the Pipe, especially without him hearing them? It didn't make sense.
Mu-Monk chattered softly from his perch on Jason's shoulder where he was sitting again, after having scampered away when the men had first appeared. He shook his head violently and scratched at one of his ears.
"What's wrong, Mu-Monk? You've been doing that a lot lately. I hope you're not getting an ear infection or something."
"Oh, the poor fella. I bet his ear is troubling him," Seattle said, as she patted Mu-Monk's head. "Let's take a quick look. I had an earache once, and it's no fun."
The two of them stopped and instructed the children to rest. Seattle called Tinker to help them look at Mu-Monk's ears. "Do you have your little penlight with you?" Seattle asked.
Tinker nodded, pulling the small flashlight out of one of his coat pockets.
"I've told Tinker that he would be able to grow taller if he didn't try to carry his entire lab around with him in those pockets of his, but he won't hear about leaving any of it behind. Most of the time I'm glad he hasn't taken my advice," Seattle said, as she held Mu-Monk in her arms so Tinker and Jason could look in his ears.
"I think it's the right one," Jason said, as Tinker turned the penlight on. "That's the one he seems to be scratching.
Tinker shined the light into Mu-Monk's ear and peered into the small canal as best he could. After a moment, he whistled and started digging into his pockets.
"Do you see something?" Seattle asked. She continued to rub and soothe the little monkey.
"I think so. I have a pair of alligator forceps around here...ah, here they are," Tinker said, as he pulled out a long pair of forceps with small jaws at the end. "Let's just see here." He bent back over Mu-Monk, holding the penlight in his mouth. Carefully, he stuck the forceps down into Mu-Monk's ear and a moment later pulled them back out.
"What is it?" Jason and Seattle asked at the same time, as they gazed at the small metallic object held in the forceps' jaws.
"It's a tracer," Tinker answered, as he took a closer look at the tiny object. "And it's still active. No doubt the guy with the yellow hair was able to follow the signal this thing is transmitting. He could follow you through any maze with this."
"Damn," Jason said. "He must have planted it in Mu-Monk's ear back at the food-serve."
Tinker nodded. "What do you want me to do with it?"
"Give it to me," Jason said. Tinker handed it over. Jason took a closer look at it, then dropped it on the floor and ground it under his foot. So much for Mr. Yellow Hair.
"Let's get going. I want to see the new lair. Besides, I'm starved for some sewage soup and filet of rat."
Seattle laughed. "Well, we'll just have to see if we can't rustle you up some special cuts."